Embolization procedures are designed to create an artificial blockage within a vessel to block blood from flowing downstream from the blockage. These procedures are used to treat several conditions, including, for example, aneurysms, hemorrhages, and lesions or growths. Specifically, for example, an embolic device may be used to occlude blood flow to an aneurysm and, thus, reduce the risk of the aneurysm rupturing and producing internal hemorrhaging. Embolic devices may include physical barriers, such as coils, balloons, chemicals, and the like. According to one type of embolization procedure, a plurality of embolic coils are delivered to the embolization site. These coils may vary in stiffness, such that a stiffer coil may provide a strong radial force to maintain the position of the artificial blockage, while a softer coil may be used as packing material to occupy space at the blockage.
During an embolic coil delivery procedure, the one or more embolic coils are typically delivered to the embolization site in the vasculature of a patient through the use of a catheter delivery system. Specifically, the embolic coils are loaded into the lumen of a catheter and the catheter is inserted into the vasculature such that the distal end of the catheter is proximate the embolization site. The embolic coils are then advanced through the lumen of the catheter using a pusher wire or pressurized fluid until the coils exit the distal end of the catheter. Unfortunately, this delivery procedure suffers drawbacks, including those caused by the resistance created by the one or more coils loaded into the catheter lumen. For example, this resistance to the force created by the pusher wire or pressurized fluid may lead to procedural complications, including imprecise positioning of the embolic coils within the patient vasculature.
The present disclosure is directed toward one or more of the problems set forth above.